Boat landing stages and the like



1970 s. E. J. BARKELING B OAT LANDING STAGES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed July 14, 1967 INVENTOR. SVEN ERIK Jul/us BARkE/ING 1970 s. E. J.BARKELING BOAT LANDING STAGES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July14, 1967 INVENTOR. SVEN E f/K Ju/lus BAPKE/l/VG 1970 s. E. J. BARKELINGBOAT LANDING STAGES AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 14, 1967Fig.9

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JNVENTOR. SvE/v ERIK Ju/ws BARkE/mG duwmzp United States Patent US. Cl.6148 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relatesto -a landing stage which may be used by boats, small sea and rivercrafts, for instance. The front end of such a stage is carried by asupport structure, resting on the sea or river bed while the rear end ofthe stage is removably anchored to the foreshore. The landing stage is,furthermore, provided with a framework presenting a deck in the form ofplanks, a plate or the like. The frameworkis either anchored to theforeshore direct or via coupling. means, in a manner known per se.According to the invention there is a supporting structure comprising atleast twostays which are secured to the frame in spaced relationship, ina plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the landingstage, said stays cooperating with supporting elements extending fromthe lower portion of the stays towards the fasienin Doint of theframework. 1

BACKGROUND In the case of landing stages which extend from the foreshoreout over the water the common problem is to anchor the landing stageagainst lifting and lateral displacement, caused by the water and ice.Previous methods of anchoring landing stages have included stone chestsconstructed of vertical and/or horizontal timbers and filled with stonesor some other heavy material. Such chests, however, are expensivebecause of the large quantities of material required which, furthermore,as a rule must be driven out to the chests during the winter time whenthe ice is thick enough to withstand the weight of the transportingvehicle. This method also presents the disadvantage that thesinking'ability of the stones is reduced; first because they suffer aloss in weight in the water and, secondly, because of the liftingability (buoyancy) of the wood. Further, water and ice present widesurfaces of attack, even though special arrangements be taken to reducethe forces of attack. Also, the timber which is placed in or immediatelyabove the surface of the water is subjected to attackfrom fungii andother organisms which attack wood, thus necessitating close supervisionand careful maintenance of the wood near the surface of the water.

To eliminate a large percentage of the work needed in the constructionof stable and rugged boat landing stages it has been suggested to usesmallfloating landing stages. These, however, present the disadvantageof being difficult to use in choppy water. The small floating landingstages are completely unservica-ble in rough water and heavy swells.

To eliminate the above disclosed disadvantages, a boat landing stage hasbeen suggested which includes a frame presenting a deck portion andsupporting and bracing members which extend between the frame and thesea or river bed; the frame being anchored direct to the foreshore orthrough the intermediary of coupling means. The sup-porting members usedhitherto comprise two parallel, vertical beams positioned side by sideand which supportingly abut the sea or river bed. However, these knownlanding stages present the disadvantage that the frame of the landingstage twists if one of the supporting mem- "ice bet settles out ofproportion with the other supporting member.

The main object of the present invention is to eliminate thesedisadvantages by making the stage sufiiciently rigid and securelysupported while still enabling it to be lifted and brought inshore whenneeded.

The invention will be more closely described in the following withreference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the significantcharacterizing features of the present invention and wherein FIGURES 1,2 and 3 show various views of a particular embodiment of the landingstage according to the inparts 2a, 2b are disposed at right angles tothe parts 2c 1 and 2d. The frame parts 2a-2d form a right-angledrectangular frame, covered by covering means 3, say in the form of aplate or a number of spaced timbers of suitable dimensions.

The frame part 20 is secured, either directly or indirectly, i.e.through the medium of coupling means, to special land anchoring means 4.The anchoring means 4 may cooperate in a known manner with a pin 5arranged on the frame part 2c. It is to advantage if the portions 5 onthe frame part 20 and the anchoring means 4 can be arranged to cooperatewith one another in such a way that the frame 2 together with the plate3 can be swung around an axle parallel to the portion 2c, the said axleextending through the means 4; alternatively a short pivot bolt may alsobe used.

A supporting structure carrying the frame extends between the frame andthe sea or river bed. The supporting structure comprises at least twobraces 6, 6' which are attached to the frame in spaced relationship,perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the landing stage. Thebraces 6, 6' form a triangle; the portions facing away from the frame 2being connected together at a junction 7. The said junction 7 can form asupport against the sea or river bed but may naturally also be providedwith a support plate which rests against said bed. Extending between thejunction 7 at right angles to the frame 2 and plate 3 is another brace8, which also serves to support the plate 3.

A brace or support rod 9 extends between the junction 7 of the bracesand one corner of the landing stage, and another support rod 9a extendsbetween the junction 7 of the braces and the adjacent corner of thelanding stage. The said support rods 9, 9a fix the junction point 7relative to the land-anchoring means 4, whereby the bracing andsupporting means 6, 7, 8 are prevented from being displaced in thelongitudinal direction of the landing stage.

Additional support means 10 may extend from the junction point 7 to theremaining corners of the frame or landing stage.

The mutual arrangement of the parts forming the landing stage 1, namelythe frame parts 2a, 2b and the frame parts 2c and 2d can be clearly seenfrom FIGURE 2. The two braces 6, 6' extend from the frame part 2a andthe frame part 2b, respectively, towards their junction point 7, withwhich the support rods 9, 9a, 10, 10a are also joined.

FIGURE 3 shows how the anchoring means 4 is secured to the foreshore 11and how the braces 6, 6 and the additional brace 8 extend through thewater 12 down towards the sea or river bed 13.

Shown in FIGURE 4 is a modification of the landing stage according toFIGURES l to 3, where the frame parts 2a and 2b are combined to form astrut 2ab arranged in the central portion of the landing stage. It is,of course, necessary to join the outer portions of the strut 2ab to thepreviously described frame parts 2d and 20, but it is also necessary toprovide supporting means 14 in the centre of the landing stage for theplate 3.

Shown in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 is another embodiment of the inventionwhich, similarly to the arrangement according to FIGURE 1, has a framecomprising the frame parts 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d. The support rods 9, 9aalso cooperate with the junction point 7 of the braces 6, 6'.

The portions of the braces 6, 6' which face towards the frame 2a, '2bare so arranged by means 16 connecting the ends thereof that they can bedisplaced towards and away from one another. This displacement is madepossible in that the member 16 comprises a screw, the outer ends ofwhich have opposing threads. These threads cooperate With threads tappedin those portions of braces 6, 6' which face toward the frame. Byrotating the screw 16 in one direction the two ends will be displacedtowards one another and vice versa, whereby the height of the frame 2with plate 3 can be adjusted in a simple manner.

FIGURES -6 and 7 illustrate different sections of the embodimentaccording to FIGURE 5. The structure of the frame 2 proper is alsoapparent from this figure. Further, special members 17, 17a are arrangedto reinforce the frame'structure. One of these members 17a extends fromone securing point 5 obliquely across the frame to the securing point ofthe stay 6, while the second member 17 extends from the other securingpoint 5 across the landing stage and to the securing point of the stay'6'.

FIGURE 8a illustrates a landing stage according to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7viewed from the front, and shows clearly how the level-adjusting means16 functions. This figure also shows that the junction point 7 lies indirect contact with the sea or river bed.

FIGURE 8b shows a similar view of the embodiment according to FIGURES 1to 3, FIGURE 80 shows a corresponding view in the embodiment accordingto FIG- URE 4, and the same is applicable to the arrangement accordingto FIGURE 8d.

Shown in FIGURES 9 and 10 is a further embodiment having a framestructure substantially similar to that according to FIGURES 1 to 3. Thesupport, in this instance, comprises two wooden stays '6, 6, whichextend between the sea or river bed and the frame and which are parallelto one another. Each stay presents a centrally arranged level-adjustingmeans 17 in the form of a screw, Which can be rotated by means of acrank 18. The screw 17 is provided with a plate 19 abutting the bed 13.The level adjusting means enables the frame to adopt a positioncompletely independent of the nature and configuration of the sea orriver bed. A supporting rod 9', which extends from the lower portion ofthe stay 6' to the fastening point of the frame, cooperates with eachstay 6.

Crossing supporting means 20, 20a, are arranged to reinforce the stays6, 6a. The length of the supporting means can be adjusted by means of ascrew, for instance. The stays 6, 6a are joined together at their lowerportions, via a distance means 21.

It is particularly important that the frame and plate are rigid and forthis purpose the frame is provided with a plurality of stiffeningelements. Thus, according to the embodiment of FIGURE 4 the central parton 2a may be designed as a tortion-rigid tube, which prevents twistingof the stay and frame.

The above described structures are well suited for factory manufactureand can be assembled rapidly. Further, they can be assembled andpositioned at any time of the year. The risk of the landing stage beingbroken by ice is eliminated since the said landing stage can be easilylifted and brought in-shore. In all events, even if the landing stage isleft in position, the attack surfaces presented to ice and sea arelimited.

What I claim is:

'1. In a landing stage for small craft having the front end thereofsupported by supporting means resting on the sea or river bed and havingthe rear end mounted on the shore, said stage including a frame carryinga deck, and said frame having means at the inner end thereof forremovably anchoring said frame to the shore, a supporting structure forsaid stage having a forward portion consisting of two stays, means forsecuring said stays adjacent opposite sides of said frame, said staysconverging downwardly and lyingin a plane perpendicular to thelongitudinal direction of said stage, said stays meeting at a commonsupporting position, and supporting elements extending from saidsupporting position toward the anchored end of said frame and beingsecured to said frame.

2. A landing stageaccording to claim 1 wherein the lower end portions tosaid stays are joined together directly.

3. A landing stage according to claim 2, there being two of saidsupporting elements, one of said supporting elements being secured to"said frame at a corner thereof adjacent said anchored position and theother of said supporting elements'being secured to said frame at theopposite comer thereof adjacent said anchored position.

4. A landing stage according to claim 1 and including level adjustingmeans arranged between said stays for adjusting the vertical position ofsaid frame.

5. A landing stage according to claim 4, said adjusting means includingmeans for displacing the upper ends of said stays toward and away fromeach other.

6. A landing stage according to claim 5, said adjusting means comprisinga screw, said stays being formed with oppositely threaded portions, saidoppositely threaded portions being received by said screw.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 963,061 7/1910 Noullet 61-481,243,981 10/ 1917 Ross 6'1-48 2,948,121 8/1960 Karst 61-48 3,354,59011/1967 Gilroy 5273 FOREIGN PATENTS 851,280 1939 France.

394,051 1 1/ 1965 Switzerland.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 5273

